Sen. Okiya Omtata of Busia has expressed opposition to moving Busia Stadium to the Busia Agricultural Training Center (ATC) premises.
Omtatah criticizes Saviour Panyako, the county's chief officer for youth, sports, and gender, in a letter dated October 16 for failing to hold a public hearing on the issue as required by the constitution.
Omtatah asserts that Panyako's office encourages meaningful discussion about the issue with the public, mainly by providing information so that people can express their opinions, "even if no guarantee is given that each individual's views will be taken."
He claims that the chief officer invited a small number of county government stakeholders to a forum for "public participation" on Tuesday, October 17.
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The senator claims that the letter sent to institutions "has very limited reach and cannot be used in place of formal advertisements placed in the print media, TV, and radio."
Furthermore, he claims that individuals invited to the meeting needed to be given more time to prepare and that there is no possibility for those unable to attend the meeting in person to submit written memoranda.
Omtatah continues, "My office is therefore unable to fully engage with the plan because the letter needs to include research demonstrating the concept's sustainability, which led the County Executive to endorse it.
The 95-acre ATC land was set aside for a public purpose that is still legitimate, according to the Busia senator, including the establishment of a university of agriculture or another institution focused on excellence in agriculture. For this reason, the senator says he opposes the proposed relocation.
In contrast to other potential locations, he claims that the County Executive has not conducted any feasibility studies demonstrating the viability of building the proposed "20,000-seater capacity stadium" on the proposed site.
Omtatah says of the undertaking: "Given the economic constraints that the Busia County Executive and the nation currently have, there is no money ranging into billions of shillings for designing and building such an ambitious stadium.
The senator claims that Ksh. Eighty million total was allotted for the project in the current County Budget, and that Ksh. One hundred million more was authorized for repairs in the 2022/2023 First Supplementary Budget.
According to Omtatah, such a significant town restructuring can only be done with a thorough, expertly made spatial plan for Busia Town that the County Assembly has authorized with effective public engagement.
He continues, "The apparent obsession of the current county administration with ill-conceived or outright sham projects that are used to deplete county budgets for the benefit of a select group of well-connected contractors and influential figures in and out of the County Government, as opposed to addressing the top livelihood needs of the people of Busia, is unacceptable.
